Nelson Cavaquinho and Cartola are the best BrazilianSamba composers ever, he left more than 600 compositions that are been recorded by several renowned interpreters of Brazilian music, such as: Elis Regina, Elizeth Cardoso, Paulinho da Viola, among many others on an endless list.

In the other hand, Nelson Cavaquinho left only a couple of solo albums and I was very curious to see his great compositions on his own performances, instead of performances by other artists.

Nelson Cavaquinho is not for beginners, his voice is rough and sounds weird, but the beauty of the melodies, lyrics and all the feelings that Nelson puts on his interpretation is really above the average.

Cavaquinho, an incurable Bohemian and friend of the drunken and prostitutes, he lived virtually at humble bar tables.

On one of those occasions, still in 1955, he approached Cavaquinho with his uncompleted samba "Garça." Cavaquinho liked the samba and wrote the bridge; it was the beginning of a long (30 years) and fruitful partnership.

After Cavaquinho's demise, he composed with Alcyr Pires Vermelho, Tito Madi, Monarco, Nelson Sargento, Evaldo Gouveia, and Fagner, and performed in sporadic solo shows, like the one at the Teatro da UERJ in 1996 to commemorate his 75 years, and one in São Paulo's Villagio Café in 2000.

Nelson Cavaquinho was in fact born one year after the date consigned on his birth certificate (October 28, 1910).

In that same year, Cavaquinho came out with "Cinzas" (with Guilherme de Brito and R. Gaetani); in 1956, he had "Pranto de Poeta" (with Guilherme de Brito); and, in 1957, his masterpiece "A Flor e o Espinho" (with Guilherme de Brito and Alcides Caminha).

Cavaquinho continued to live this way until he died of pulmonary emphysema.

The "cavaquinho" is a small string instrument (like the ukulele) of the European guitar family with four wires or gut strings.

The "cavaquinho", as a rhythmic and harmonic instrument with its own vibrating and cheerful sound, is one of the most fited instrument for accompanying "viras","chulas", "males", "canas-verdes", "verdegares", "prins".

The cavaquinho is also found in other places were the Portuguese made an imprint, namely Cape Verde and USA (especially Hawaii), and also in these it became an important part of the typical music of those places.

Bau's father was a stringed instruments maker in Mindelo and gave him for his seventh birthday his first instrument, a cavaquinho, which is a small four strings guitar, similar to a ukulele, used in Brazil and in Cape Verde to mark the beat.

Bau's favourite cavaquinho player was the Brazilianvirtuoso, Waldir Azevedo; however he also admired the "guitara flamenca" style of Al Di Meola or the violin of Stephane Grapelli.

The melody is built around a theme played on violin, delicately accompanied by guitar and cavaquinho, with shifting instruments playing lead; in the bottom lies a fast coladeira-rhythm.

Waldir Azevedo was born in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, and learned to play the flute, guitar and cavaquinho as a child.

He was responsible for the introduction of the cavaquinho as a solo instrument, which until then, was only used to accompany musical groups.

The cavaquinho is also found in other places where the Portuguese made an imprint, namely Cape Verde and USA (especially Hawaii), and also became an important part of the typical music of those places.

With Apanhei-Te Cavaquinho (I Got You Cavaquinho) the soloist improvises unpredictable riffs until he can no longer be followed by the accompanying instruments, and in Ameno Resedá the piano imitates the cavaquinho's rhythmic accompaniment.

Today the term can mean a group of instruments (flute, violão, cavaquinho, bandolim/mandolin, clarinet, pandeiro), the act of getting together to play choro, or a melody in 2/4 characterized by sentimental phrases and unexpected modulations.

It came to Brazil as it came to other countries colonized by the Portuguese, and traveled as far as Portugal's commercial trading posts in Hawaii (where it transformed into the ukulele) and Indonesia.

In Brazil the cavaquinho played a key part on the birth and development of urban popular music since the middle of last century, both in the instrumental lineage that led to Choro, and in the vocal one that led to samba.

Although there are still great cavaquinho players such as Julio Pereira in Portugal, it was in Brazil that the instrument reached its highest degree of development thanks to musicians such as:

According to Nazareth biographer Luiz Antônio de Almeida, the composer was imitating the sound of the cavaquinho in the left-hand accompaniment and that of a flute in the melody played by the right hand.

Nazareth never intended Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho to be played as rapidly as it is executed by most musicians.

Like Ameno Resedá and unlike all of Nazareths other tunes, Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho is almost entirely composed of eighth-notes in the right hand; the interpreter immediately sees the possibility of playing it rapidly, owing to its regularity.

There are banjos of cavaquinho size with 4 strings, or 4 double strings as a kind of mandolin, etc. They are all used for folk music.

The cavaquinho on Cape Verde is usually more like the bigger size cavaquinho from Brazil (or even larger !), then the slender one from Portugal (although the string length for all is more or less the same).

The cavaquinhos are used to accompany singing by strumming and occasional a short solo.

According to Nazareth biographer Luiz Antônio de Almeida, the composer was imitating the sound of the cavaquinho in the left-hand accompaniment and that of a flute in the melody played by the right hand.

Nazareth never intended Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho to be played as rapidly as it is executed by most musicians.

Like Ameno Resedá and unlike all of Nazareths other tunes, Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho is almost entirely composed of eighth-notes in the right hand; the interpreter immediately sees the possibility of playing it rapidly, owing to its regularity.